Why does the PC speaker header need 4 pins and why is the speaker connector
4 pins wide, but only use pin 1 and 4. I have a black (neg) wire on pin 1
and red (pos) wire to pin 4.
Can the motherboard handle 2 speakers (stereo perhaps?)
"GT" <ContactGT_remove_@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:461b8a6a$0$3795$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com...
> Why does the PC speaker header need 4 pins and why is the speaker
> connector 4 pins wide, but only use pin 1 and 4. I have a black (neg) wire
> on pin 1 and red (pos) wire to pin 4.
>
> Can the motherboard handle 2 speakers (stereo perhaps?)
Your motherboard manual should be able to tell you.
"meerkat" <xxxx@xxxx.com> wrote in message
news:hnMSh.5350$nM6.1768@newsfe2-win.ntli.net...
>
> "GT" <ContactGT_remove_@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:461b8a6a$0$3795$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com...
>> Why does the PC speaker header need 4 pins and why is the speaker
>> connector 4 pins wide, but only use pin 1 and 4. I have a black (neg)
>> wire on pin 1 and red (pos) wire to pin 4.
>>
>> Can the motherboard handle 2 speakers (stereo perhaps?)
> Your motherboard manual should be able to tell you.
I think they [motherboards] are all the same. The manual just indicates
which pins are for the speakers - doesn't say why there are 4.
GT wrote:
> "meerkat" <xxxx@xxxx.com> wrote in message
> news:hnMSh.5350$nM6.1768@newsfe2-win.ntli.net...
>> "GT" <ContactGT_remove_@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:461b8a6a$0$3795$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com...
>>> Why does the PC speaker header need 4 pins and why is the speaker
>>> connector 4 pins wide, but only use pin 1 and 4. I have a black (neg)
>>> wire on pin 1 and red (pos) wire to pin 4.
>>>
>>> Can the motherboard handle 2 speakers (stereo perhaps?)
>> Your motherboard manual should be able to tell you.
>
> I think they [motherboards] are all the same. The manual just indicates
> which pins are for the speakers - doesn't say why there are 4.
>
>
Most likely to keep one from confusing the fan, switch and speaker
connectors from each other.
GT wrote:
> "meerkat" <xxxx@xxxx.com> wrote in message
> news:hnMSh.5350$nM6.1768@newsfe2-win.ntli.net...
>> "GT" <ContactGT_remove_@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:461b8a6a$0$3795$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com...
>>> Why does the PC speaker header need 4 pins and why is the speaker
>>> connector 4 pins wide, but only use pin 1 and 4. I have a black (neg)
>>> wire on pin 1 and red (pos) wire to pin 4.
>>>
>>> Can the motherboard handle 2 speakers (stereo perhaps?)
>> Your motherboard manual should be able to tell you.
>
> I think they [motherboards] are all the same. The manual just indicates
> which pins are for the speakers - doesn't say why there are 4.
>
>
Most likely to keep one from confusing the fan, switch and speaker
connectors from each other.
"Pen" <pen34usnospam@hotmailnospam.com> wrote in message
news:I_GdnZLKKrAvPYbbnZ2dnUVZ_vTinZ2d@comcast.com. ..
> GT wrote:
>> "meerkat" <xxxx@xxxx.com> wrote in message
>> news:hnMSh.5350$nM6.1768@newsfe2-win.ntli.net...
>>> "GT" <ContactGT_remove_@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>> news:461b8a6a$0$3795$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com...
>>>> Why does the PC speaker header need 4 pins and why is the speaker
>>>> connector 4 pins wide, but only use pin 1 and 4. I have a black (neg)
>>>> wire on pin 1 and red (pos) wire to pin 4.
>>>>
>>>> Can the motherboard handle 2 speakers (stereo perhaps?)
>>> Your motherboard manual should be able to tell you.
>>
>> I think they [motherboards] are all the same. The manual just indicates
>> which pins are for the speakers - doesn't say why there are 4.
> Most likely to keep one from confusing the fan, switch and speaker
> connectors from each other.
Fair point - I didn't think of that as my speaker connector says spk on it,
but I guess they don't all have that.
"GT" <ContactGT_remove_@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:461b8a6a$0$3795$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com...
> Why does the PC speaker header need 4 pins and why is the speaker
> connector 4 pins wide, but only use pin 1 and 4. I have a black (neg) wire
> on pin 1 and red (pos) wire to pin 4.
>
> Can the motherboard handle 2 speakers (stereo perhaps?)
They've been like this since the original PC. +5v, gnd, sound and a
"missing" pin so you couldn't plug it in backwards. That's why there's four.
Noozer wrote:
> "GT" <ContactGT_remove_@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:461b8a6a$0$3795$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com...
> > Why does the PC speaker header need 4 pins and why is the speaker
> > connector 4 pins wide, but only use pin 1 and 4. I have a black
> > (neg) wire on pin 1 and red (pos) wire to pin 4.
> >
> > Can the motherboard handle 2 speakers (stereo perhaps?)
>
> They've been like this since the original PC. +5v, gnd, sound and a
> "missing" pin so you couldn't plug it in backwards. That's why
> there's four.
However, for the longest time most cases have only used two wires, not
three.
But you're right, going back to pre-486 days (as far as my opening-cases
history goes) it was always so. Speaker headers have four pins.
I've actually seen some PCs, can't remember all of them except one was an
IMB ~400MHz Celeron, that output Windows sound to the PC speaker. The
speaker was a little more robust than the usual 0.5W thing but not
significantly so.
--
Shaun.
GT wrote:
>
> Why does the PC speaker header need 4 pins and why is the speaker connector
> 4 pins wide, but only use pin 1 and 4. I have a black (neg) wire on pin 1
> and red (pos) wire to pin 4.
>
> Can the motherboard handle 2 speakers (stereo perhaps?)
Sometimes the speaker wire to the motherboard will even have pin 2 or 3
blocked out. If's that's the case then just cut the connector in half or
drill through the blocked pin 2 or 3 on the speaker connector. It
doesn't matter which way you connect it either as either way will work.
On 21 Apr 2007 13:47:02 -0500, Plato <|@|.|> wrote:
>GT wrote:
>>
>> Why does the PC speaker header need 4 pins and why is the speaker connector
>> 4 pins wide, but only use pin 1 and 4. I have a black (neg) wire on pin 1
>> and red (pos) wire to pin 4.
>>
>> Can the motherboard handle 2 speakers (stereo perhaps?)
>
>Sometimes the speaker wire to the motherboard will even have pin 2 or 3
>blocked out. If's that's the case then just cut the connector in half or
>drill through the blocked pin 2 or 3 on the speaker connector. It
>doesn't matter which way you connect it either as either way will work.
Anyone who doesn't have drill bits that small (since what
you'd typically find in a hardware store or generic drill
bit pack is no smaller than 1/16", way too big for this
purpose) can instead heat up a needle hot enough to melt
it's way into the blanked position on the connector, then
use a knife to trim away any flared material remaining on
the surface.
4 pins for the speaker? 
Linear Mode
